History in November

We talked quite often about Autumn's beauty -- maybe too often. Even the most pretty thing in the world can become uninteresting when reminded of and shown too many times. And, by the way, if you feel the same way about your wall art -- it could be the right moment to take it off that bedroom wall and decorate with something else, or leave the wall bare, so it could "breathe" a little. Therefore, you will find no landscapes and nature here today, and instead I would like to suggest a few fascinating pieces of historical art that is nonetheless linked to November.

Decorate with Magazine Covers -- November Issues

I was looking for something out of the ordinary, but didn't expect to
set my eyes on magazine covers as potential wall decoration art
objects.

These covers, however, are not the fashion glossy pages we are used to seeing today -- they belong to literary magazines that were published in the 19th century. They don't really look like covers, at least not in our modern understanding of this term.

Photography (or daguerreotype) was probably too expensive than to be printed for a monthly edition, so editors employed painters. These two covers are actually paintings -- but with a surprising "poster" feel to them, the composition and the colors resembling Toulouse-Lautrec's Moulin Rouge groundbreaking works.

Paul Rubens Decoration

Paul Rubens, a painter who led a successful diplomatic career, had, besides his artistic taste, a certain political sense for historical events. These two combined allowed him to create lasting works of historical and aesthetic value. I think Rubens' art is difficult to enjoy because it's eclectic and energetic to the point of pushy. But it's undoubtedly worth the effort. The grand compositions and the rhythm of his paintings overflow beyond the boundaries of the frame -- but retain a majestic elegance and poise. In a way, his paintings are similar to his ladies, the proud owners of the heavy "Rubenesque" figures.

Let's Have a Ball (and a Fashion Show)

These black and white prints depict events taken out of a 19th century novel. It's difficult to believe that such a ball and such a fashion show were real -- so distant and pretentious they look -- but the appeal of these scenes rests precisely in their truthfulness. Balls were actually thrown and these fashion shows took place... However, we are given the highlights here, the most saturated moments that wouldn't seem so ridiculous had we witnessed what happened before and after. But that is up to our imagination to fill in.